


club joker

by nobantrai



Series: 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 𝐉𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑 [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, all ships make an appearance y’all, chensung are just uwu, enjoy???, gambling au, i be lowkey loving this au tho, inspired by kakegurui and ohshc, markhyuck be frienemies, norenmin is chaotic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22930045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobantrai/pseuds/nobantrai
Summary: a club that divides social stands and skill, all in the name of gambling. come and play a round, if you dare.alternatively; dreamies are gamblers :)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Series: 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 𝐉𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648018
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	club joker

**Author's Note:**

> look. with all the card games plus minor gambling with friends and teachers at school, you bet imma be making this.
> 
> any who, hope y’all enjoy!

"i'm sorry princess, but it just so seems like..." he gently placed down a ace of hearts on the stack of cards in the center of the table, a sickeningly sweet grin on his lips. " you've lost. "

"no...no...it can't—! i-i had all the right cards—how?" the girl's eyes widened in shock, gaze switching from her hand to the other's empty ones. just how did he win? she had all the right cards to win; the possibilities were endless. a four of a kind, a sequence, even a two of hearts; the highest card of the whole game!

so how—?

"it's just simple strategy princess." renjun leaned in close to the girl across the table, tilting her head up with his finger to face him. "charm, observe, then execute. but unfortunately, someone as shallow as you wouldn't know such thing." a low chuckle erupted from his throat as he continued, "now...pay up."

the girl had no choice but to give the smirking male a stack of money she had betted on. to believe that she would win against one of the club joker's kings, it was only wishful thinking. the stack of korean won stared back at her mockingly, to show just how useless her attempts were.

renjun leaned in close enough to whisper, "thank you princess. it's been a pleasure." then backed away with a wicked smile as he snatched up the stack of money with delight.

even though her pride had been trampled and spat on, she couldn't deny the charm of huang renjun. the way her face immediately heats up and heart suddenly pulls, then it was like losing seemed worth it. now why would one even stoop so low as to say that they  liked  their pride being trampled on? well, those who challenges any of the kings of club joker of course.

it was an unseen pleasure that the boys exude that made it seem like losing to them was the best thing to happen to the challenger. but it just so depends on  whom  they challenge of course. in a world of gambling, risks are the source of adrenaline and excitement. club joker was founded back when the first king was a first year.

mark lee, had already loved the thrill of gambling as that was all he did back home in vancouver before he moved to seoul. it was always a battle of tricks and smarts. staring down the other opponent to read their expressions or counting on your luck, or sometimes relying on filthy tricks to win. either way, mark wanted to share this love and possibly spice up his boring high school life. so him and another first year, huang renjun, decided to create club joker.

they were already popular amongst the student body, so when they started the club out, almost everyone was clamoring for a spot next to mark and renjun. the top four players that could possibly beat them in a game of their choice was going to hold the spot as king or queen. and so, a tournament ensued. at first, actual money wasn't involved until mark decided that the thrill wasn't the same. it had to be something the person cared about, and what more than a piece of paper than practically ran the whole world?

lee jeno didn't think much and played nonchalantly. he saw the flyer one day and shrugged to himself thinking, why not? it wasn't like he had any other clubs he was remotely interested in. he could still remember the shocked look on renjun's face when he won and had seen through his tricks since the beginning of the game; all with a blank look on his face. (chenle nicknames him the stone face killer, and still proceeds to call him that no matter how much he protests) that earned the respect of both existing members of club joker as they welcomed him with open arms.

lee donghyuck joined to spite the founder of the club, mark lee. long story short, he'll surely beat mark in his stupid game once and for all; figuratively and literally. it's been an unspoken rivalry between them since junior high, and they didn't need to voice anything to know the others intentions. in ways, you'd probably think they were good friends but no, they aren't. after easily beating renjun, an evil smirk found itself on donghyuck's lips as he stared at mark with a dark yet determined stare, "you're next mark lee." the latter had only shared the same look and replied lightheartedly as if he knew donghyuck couldn't beat him no matter how hard he tried. 

"i'll be waiting. but now, congratulations, you're officially a king of club joker, lee donghyuck."

zhong chenle and park jisung though, came as a two in one deal. the two were attached at the hip and refused to split. chenle, the more extroverted and more of the 'wear your heart on your sleeve' guy, shows how that's so. rather than jisung, the quieter more reserved one that sticks to the quiet gestures that spoke louder than words, but everyone knows he holds as much adoration for chenle as chenle has for him. both challenged mark and had won by a total landslide. though he didn't question the odd way that they played, with chenle sat comfortably in the younger's lap while they waited for the other's turn to play. maybe there was something mark was missing here, but he accepted his defeat with pride and warmly welcomed the two talented youngins.

from then on, gambling became a regular thing at apgujeong high. seizing the attention of everyone who attended or transferred, and soon enough, it was a part of the high school itself. thing is, the only thing that has changed much are the stakes at hand. not only are people betting money, but things that were more personal, like a family heirloom. it was crazy what people would bet just to play a certain member, only to come out empty handed.

"i'm so bored! all these kids keep on losing and it's the same reaction every time! ugh." renjun whined, throwing himself onto the couch of the club room, coincidentally landing his head on jeno's lap. "i made like 12,000,000 won but what's to buy now?" the male tossed the stack of won onto the overly expensive coffee table that was being used as a studying area for the maknaes.

"hey! we're studying here ge!" chenle whined petulantly, his lips pouting and everything.

"wow, that's a first." jeno commented sarcastically, his hand finding its way down to card through renjun's locks as he continued on with some studying of his own.

"oh shush mr. i'm-good-at-everything-without-trying! we get it, you're book smart but we aren't." with a final huff, he went back to aggressively scribbling down some notes. 

seeing chenle frown wasn't a sight jisung liked, and so he reached into his backpack to dig out a raspberry lollipop. he always kept chenle's favorite candies in his backpack in cases like this, and because he knew how much of a sweet tooth the latter's got. once he found what he needed, he unwrapped the candy and gently placed it on the elder's lips as a sign to take it. "here, it's your favorite."

almost instantly, chenle's mouth curled up in a smile and took the candy in between his lips. "thanks sungie." he said, giving the other a side hug then continued on with his work. jisung only found it within himself to blush and bashfully mutter back a 'you're welcome'.

"they're so cute, i want to take a bath with a toaster." donghyuck groaned, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"i wouldn't mind that." 

"shut it canada. you're just jealous a toaster can take a bath with me but you can't." the younger quipped, smirking at the male who was sitting at a desk looking through and marking up this month's club calendar.

"as if i'd ever want to see you naked." mark fake gagged, "disgusting."

"you're disgusting."

"no, you're—"

"i'm just gonna stop this before you guys start throwing chairs and shit. anyways, mark, any fresh meat coming in this year?" renjun asked, right after giving the two rivals a dirty look (read: motherly look).

mark stood up and went over to their bookcase, pulling out a binder he kept for his student council work. the first students to know of new students coming in were the student council president and vice president. mark being the president, gave him the privilege of spotting out their opponents. which came quite in handy might he add.

right before the second semester rolled around, mark and soyeon, the vice prez, had a small meeting with the principal on a new student transferring in mid year. after being given the file, mark stuffed it into his binder and has yet to look through the kid's bio.

flipping the binder open to its first page, the student's picture was the first thing he saw. how could he miss that blinding smile? some dentist work alright. not to mention the odd yet fitting hair with his whole head blonde while part of his bangs being this silvery blue hue.

"yeah, some kid named na jaemin. he's transferring all the way from busan apparently, and is in the same grade as jeno and donghyuck." mark summarized, scanning over the page once more to see if there were any other valuable information on the new boy. "he also has a pretty academic record. high a's across the board with excellent performance in his honors classes too, not to mention the amount of volunteer work he does." he added.

"so basically another jeno? great, another person to trample on my b's and c's." donghyuck sighed dramatically and laid back down on the couch across the couch renjun and jeno were on.

"cheer up hyuckie! at least you're not at the brink of failing like me." chenle stated way too positively to not be concerned.

"i guess so." donghyuck said, not sounding any better than before.

"shut up, i don't need to hear your about plummeting grades." renjun snapped, "anything else on this kid?"

after a few whiny remarks from donghyuck and a pout from chenle, mark continued as asked. "he's made himself quite the name back at his high school. the golden boy of busan."

"golden boy of busan huh? let's see how golden he can be when he's up against me." jeno looked down to see something dark swirling around renjun's eyes, and to say the least, he wanted in on it too.

-

a fresh start was what na jaemin was looking for when he set off to live with his grandmother in the great city of seoul. with a heck ton of persuading, his parents finally agreed for him to go. the catch would be them picking the school he attends, which happens to be apgujeong high school. it was a good school and it was relatively close to his grandmother's house, righting a win in both jaemin's and his parent's books.

stepping out of the train station, jaemin stopped for a moment to stretch and release some satisfying pops from his stiff joints. letting out a small puff of air, he pulled his thin jacket closer to his body and cursed the chilly january winds before grabbing his two suitcases. the city of seoul was just as he expected it to be, with its high buildings and endless amounts of bustling people.

it was nerve wrecking in a way where jaemin's heart was beating out of his chest, but at the same time he couldn't wait for this new life he's set for himself.

hailing a taxi, he thankfully caught one before it drove away. piling his baggage into the trunk, he made himself comfortable in the passenger seat of the car.

"where to?" the driver asked, ready to put the location into his phone that was mounted on some phone holding contraption.

"uh, here." jaemin handed over a piece of paper with his grandmother's address on it.

the man looked at the scribbled on words and proceeded to put it into his phone, then set the route. "i see you're living in gangnam huh? are you attending apgujeong then?"

"oh, yes. i'm actually transferring there from geumjeong." jaemin replies.

"geumjeong? so you're here from busan? wow, i'm actually from there too!" the driver exclaimed excitedly, pulling a smile.

"small world huh? anyways, do you know much about apgujeong? my parents chose that school for me and i really don't know much about it."

"lucky you, i do know quite the gossip of what goes on in the school. apparently they have this club that centers around gambling, and it's really big too. i'm surprised the authority hasn't taken it down yet. kids that age shouldn't even be thinking of such things." he shook his head disappointedly, clearly disliking the amount of gambling that has spread throughout the school.

jaemin on the other hand was intrigued. gambling? that was all his and his grandmother did when he visited. she didn't care if he was young, she still taught him to gamble and betted with pieces of candies instead of actual money. he found entertainment in it and had grown fond of it, since it all reminds him of those times he'd play with his grandmother. most of the times she'd win of course, but there were those times he would win.

he would show off his brightest smile as he would cheer about his victory, jumping around the place like he won the lottery. oh, and the amount of candy he'd have afterwards; his parents scolded him to no end.

"and we're here! i hope you have a great first day of school, and welcome to seoul kiddo." jaemin nodded gratefully and gave the man the money due.

he went and claimed his luggage, then proceeded to open the gate in front of the house. taking a glance around him, it seemed like a pretty normal middle class neighborhood. nothing special.

"jaemin! you're here!" turning back around, he sees his grandmother walking towards him beaming. her arms were held out in means to hug him and he met her halfway, engulfing her in one.

"gran gran! it's been too long." letting go, she kissed him on the forehead before leading him in her house. "you've been taking your medication too right?"

"oh of course jaemin. i wouldn't be this lively if i wasn't now, would i?" 

"you're right."

one of the reasons why jaemin moved to seoul was because of his grandmother's growing depression. it wasn't that long ago that she was officially diagnosed with clinical depression that her doctors suggested her antidepressants and therapist visits. seeing as the woman is someone of importance to jaemin, he felt that if he were to live with her, he could keep an eye on her too. it was nice seeing her smile and be her playful self.

there was a time in where jaemin did see her symptoms in full play. it wasn't something he liked much either, because it made him sad too. she didn't want to do anything and refused to get out of her room all day. she seemed so dead. jaemin remembered bringing in their old overused deck of cards and persuading her to play a game with him. it worked to say the least, getting her to crack a little grin.

"are you ready for your first day jaemin?" his grandmother asked, sitting herself on the couch carefully.

jaemin nodded his head, "totally. i wonder what kids over here are like."

"they aren't that bad. maybe a few rotten apples here and there, but i'm sure you'll do fine." she encouraged. "anyways, go put up your belongings. i'll start up dinner."

"no it's fine, i can do di—" she gave him a pointed look causing him to shut up and let out a defeated sigh. "alright, gran gran."

the night went on peacefully, with the two playfully bickering at the dinner table and sneaking in a game of rich man poor man. (jaemin's grandmother won by the way) 

tomorrow was going to be the start of a new day and a new beginning. whatever tomorrow may hold, may jaemin come home with a full heart.

-

jaemin didn't expect much when he showed up to school in casual wear. if anything, he had a valid excuse because his uniform hadn't came in yet. so, why in the world are people staring at him as if he were some fancy rock in a museum? all he wore was a simple graphic tee that he pulled out of his half arranged closet with ripped jeans. was the french tuck too much? he thought that was in style though.

awkwardly making his way through the gawking crowd, he managed to find himself in front of the principal's office. he didn't know being new was such a big deal. it wasn't like he was some celebrity or anything jeez.

after knocking twice, a faint 'come in' was heard. upon opening the door, he was met with the sight of a middle aged looking women with her hair twirled into a tight bun. she gave off this really strict teacher vibe, but at the same time not really. he did have to admit she was a beauty.

"na jaemin i presume? please sit, no need to be shy." she encouraged lightly, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"right." he closed the door behind him and took a seat as instructed. jaemin took a glance at the woman and she still hasn't taken her eyes off of the computer screen.

"so, na jaemin second year...very impressive academic record i see... active in volunteering as well as being student council president. you also sighed up for honor courses here, i hope you know those courses are meant to challenge you academically and mentally. but considering your scores from your last school, you should do just fine...anyways, you're whole schedule should be printing out right about now. do you have any questions you'd like to ask?" finally, she looked up at him and surprisingly looked completely tame unlike his initial thought.

"i—uh...what are the clubs offered here?" jaemin asked, thinking about that gambling club the taxi driver was talking about. he was curious if it actually existed, cause it is indeed rumor and rumors shouldn't be trusted easily.

"well, we have book club, debate, writer's block, mathematics, science, photography, dance, and a lot more. i can get you a separate sheet of all the clubs we provide if you would like?" she offered.

the latter shook his head politely, "i've just heard about this...uhm...gambling club? like it's alright if i misheard, it is just something i overheard anyways." he forced out a chuckle and avoided direct contact with the principal, opting to look at her brows instead.

"oh you mean club joker?" her pleasantly surprised tone shocked jaemin yet again. this woman was full of surprises wasn't she?

"club joker?" jaemin echoes.

"yes, club joker. i never really suspected you as the gambling type, but i guess you really can't judge a book by its cover now can you? but yes, you heard right. we do have a club dedicated towards gambling. there are currently six active members in the club, and they're all from different grades. two of them are also in your grade." the principal supplies, while working on putting a paper clip onto jaemin's papers.

"oh really? are they still offering spots?" 

"i believe so. if you want i can talk to the club founder for you. he's also apart of student council so he might be the one giving you a campus tour as well." she proposed, handing over jaemin his schedule and papers.

"that would be greatly appreciated ms. bae. thank you for your help."

"oh it is nothing at all. it's pretty much my job so don't sweat it. have a wonderful first day jaemin, i hope you find apgujeong fulfilling." with a final nod of thanks, he headed out with papers in hand already searching for his first class.

it shouldn't be that hard since his first class was conveniently located in the hallway he was in. 

since the bell had rung ages ago and students cleared into their designated classes already, jaemin felt like he could breathe again without all of those suffocating stares directed at him before. to be honest, the quiet vacant halls were pretty peaceful especially with the addition of the natural sunlight coming through the windows to his left.

he'd finally reached the room he was looking for, class 2-1. it was obvious they were already taking role and jaemin was contemplating whether or not his timing was perfect or absolutely terrible. he chose the latter.

knocking on the door, he waited for the teacher to come answer it. while counting down the seconds before he was met with even more curious stares, he prayed with all of his heart that he had scored a cool teacher. yes, he could handle the strict ones and all but a chill teacher would be a nice change in environment for once.

"yes, may i help you?" a tall man appeared before him, his hair swept back with round specs perched atop the bridge of his nose.

jaemin going to lie, his teacher was pretty good looking.

"uh, i'm new and i'm supposed to be in your class." jaemin said, the claim coming out more like a question than a statement.

"name?"

"na jaemin. i'm the kid that transferred from busan." he supplied, hoping that he didn't get the wrong class. cause if he did, somebody just plan his funeral already.

"ah, right. i'm mr.seo by the way. we've been expecting you for quite some time now. come right in, we were just doing roll call anyways so you didn't miss much." mr. seo welcomes him in and he was met with even more stares. great.

god, why did class introductions always have to be this extra? not only that, he totally stuck out like a sore thumb with his blue colored bangs and non uniformed outfit. cute, everything was just peachy. he silently curses his friends back in busan for making him dye his hair this way, then at himself for agreeing so willingly.

finally making himself comfy in the spot next to mr. seo's desk he bowed to the class and introduced himself, "hello, my name's na jaemin. i transferred here from busan and please take care of me."

he heard some whispers and an equal amount of squeals from the female population of the class. not trying to sound cocky here but it was kind of the same back in busan as well. girls, even boys, adored him and deemed him the ideal boyfriend type. it made him shy to an extent but he decided to play along and sometimes flirted back.

"alrighty, jaemin you can take the seat next to mister lee donghyuck. donghyuck please raise your hand." following the teacher's request, jaemin made his way to the seat next to the honey skinned boy.

right when jaemin pulled out his supplies, his seat mate tapped him on the shoulder to catch his attention.

"yes?" he looked back at the male questioningly.

"it's nice to meet you. the name's donghyuck, as you already know, but you can call me hyuck." donghyuck held up a hand for a handshake and jaemin gladly took it, giving it a firm shake.

"nice to meet you too, hyuck. and since i can call you hyuck, you can call me nana."

donghyuck notes at how carefree jaemin seems to be, with a hint of innocence.  guess renjun won't have a problem beating him in a game , he thought remembering the elder's words.

"nana. sounds cute. you wouldn't mind joining me and my buddies for lunch right?"

"not at all."

-

"hey! that's my fucking sausage you conniving brat!" renjun screeched, trying to get back his precious sausage that was being held captive by the evil dolphin named chenle.

"it's mine now, go buy yourself another one." chenle said, hiding in the arms of jisung with the sausage still in hand.

"you—"

"hey hey hey! enough, can't we have at least  one  peaceful lunch? jeez, it's always a war zone here." donghyuck nagged, arriving at their usual table.

mark scoffs, "says you."

"what did you—" before he could spit out a full on essay on how annoying mark was, he was aware of an extra presence behind him. and so, he took a deep breath and relaxed. " anyways , i'm here to introduce someone new."

jaemin assumed that was his cue to awkwardly wave at the table of boys who were staring at him. "hey, the name's jaemin." he greeted.

everyone's ears perked up at the familiar name and donghyuck just smirked, as if to say, 'i found him losers, look how useful i can be'.

mark was the first to talk, sending the boy an equally friendly wave. "i'm mark, it's nice to meet you too. come, sit down, you must be tired from having to deal with that rat all morning."

"rat...?" jaemin questioned, tilting his head then it hit him, "oh."

"okay, listen here you maple syrup snorting bitch. the  one  time i'm willing to be civil and you pull  this ? fuck you." while everyone else was unfazed by donghyuck's outburst, jaemin was wide eyed in shock. this was not the same donghyuck that had greeted him this morning. it was like mark flipped his bitch switch and now there was no going back.

"couldn't say the same to you. i don't want your dick anywhere near me." jaemin almost spat out the imaginary water he had in his mouth. were they always this explicit around each other?

before he could see anything worse, a soft tug on his sleeve turned his attention to the blond with a mole near his right eye.

"why don't you sit down? you seem really uncomfortable standing there and witnessing that." the boy said, pulling him into the seat in between him and another male who seemed visibly smaller.

"are they always like this?" jaemin asked, still kind of watching the whole banter build with each insult thrown at the other party.

"ever since middle school, they've been at each other's throats like tom and jerry. i'm surprised they haven't killed each other yet." replied the blond, picking up another pickled radish from his lunch tray. "oh! i'm jeno by the way. i'm also in your class but i don't think you noticed me. beside you is renjun, he's a year above us even though we're born in the same year. and the two in front of you are chenle and jisung, both first years."

everyone waved and said their own greetings when jeno introduced them, making jaemin smile warmly back at them. though there are some weird thing about first days being terrible, he's finding his first day here quite the opposite really. usually he's be the one reaching out to other's, but donghyuck took the initiative. it's a sweet gesture, jaemin couldn't lie about that.

while he was creating small talk with the group, he couldn't help but notice the odd looks renjun would shoot his way. to break the building tension he started to talk about clubs instead, since that was all that was piquing his interest as of lately.

"so, are you guys in any clubs?" and didn't that catch everyone's attention. the sudden shift in mood was notable, but jaemin didn't say anything about it and continued, "because i'm interested in this one club but...i don't know whether i should join or not."

"which club is it?" renjun asked, his interest as piqued as the other's.

"i think it was called club joker? it's like a gambling club. ms.bae told me she would talk to the founder for me if i was interested in joining." jaemin found it odd how everyone's attention was snatched once he mentioned joining a club. it was as if they had expected this to happen...

eh, but he shouldn't dwell on it much. 

"club joker? not a bad choice. i heard a lot of students went broke after betting everything on a match before." donghyuck had shrugged his shoulders as if those students losing all their money wasn't even the worst thing to happen.

"yeah, and to get in, you have to win a game against one of the kings. apparently it's super dooper hard to beat them, so their club has remained a member count of six for a long while now." added chenle, casually munching on the sausage that he stole from renjun.

"really? wow, sounds difficult. i know i have ms.bae asking for me, but is it possible to ask one of the members directly?" jaemin asked, unaware of the game the boys were playing. bless his poor soul.

"i—uh, no. ms.bae is your best bet." mark quickly answered, his reddening ears raising a flag in jaemin's head. something wasn't adding up here.

"right...okay." the latter looked down at his phone and widened his eyes at the time. "oh shoot! i'm gonna be late for ap calculus, thanks for inviting me to eat lunch with your friends hyuck. and it was a pleasure meeting you all, see ya!"

once jaemin was out of earshot, the youngest spoke up, "you guys are idiots. why didn't you just tell him  we  are the kings?"

"where's the fun in that?" renjun snorted, rolling his eyes, a glint of mischief swirling around in them. "you act like you don't live for the thrill either."

jisung just gave the elder a deadpan look before going back to finishing up his essay he had for literature class.

"i agree with renjun on this one. also, who's he gonna go up against?" donghyuck piped up, wondering how well this kid could really play.

"i'll go up against him." jeno offered, mildly shocking the table with his sudden suggestion. see, jeno was never the one to really volunteer for matches. he would always be the one chosen to compete, not the other way around. so for him to offer out of nowhere was groundbreaking news for the whole crew.

"is lee jeno actually willing to participate in a match. on his own will?! this is unheard of."

"who are you and what have you done to my hyung?!" 

"well, if jeno's playing, i want to too." renjun volunteered, draping an arm around the younger's shoulder to show his cooperation. "we can play double concentration with my deck of cards."

the others gave each other knowing looks. when renjun used his own deck of cards, it was a full guarantee that he'd win. the deck was literally specialized in games based on strategy and reading your opponents expressions. as games of strategy were renjun's specialty, it only made sense for him to have such a deck.

"the players are confirmed then. renjun and jeno will be playing against the noobie na jaemin. let's see how this game will unfold."

"i'm so excited!!"

-

jaemin wasn't sure whether he should be worried or excited because he was just informed that the founder of club joker accepted his request to join. now he just had to win a game against one of the kings. simple as that, so why was he starting to doubt his gambling abilities? his grandmother basically trained him to be an absolute master at card games, but who was he kidding. from what he's heard, over half the school had challenged the kings and they all  lost . who said he wouldn't end up the same way?

before he could even back out, he's already in front of the room designated for the club itself. the door had an engraving of a traditional joker card. how fitting.

right as jaemin was about to knock, the door swung open in one fell swoop. and there he was met eye to eye with huang renjun, with messy hair as if he just woke up from a power nap. jaemin had to hold himself back from cooing at the cute sight.

renjun's eyes were blown wide when he laid eyes on the boy before him. "oh, uh...welcome? i didn't expect you coming so early."

"renjun? are you trying out too?" 

"uhm, no. i'm not."

"then why are you in the—oh." jaemin wanted to slap himself for being so dumb. how couldn't he have realized sooner? the weird stares, the sudden interest in clubs. he's a big idiot and he knows it. "you're a king, and let me guess, donghyuck and the other four are too." he concluded.

the shorter nodded, kind of disappointed that his grand surprise was ruined because he didn't keep track of time. it wasn't his fault jeno was so comfortable to cuddle, and that jaemin was an early bird.

on the other hand, jaemin didn't really know what to think. renjun is one of those 'unbeatable' kings of club joker. the latter sure didn't look like the gambling type. he looked like the typical soft boy who helps out at the library or something.

"quit standing there and come in. we were just starting to set up for the match." renjun grabbed ahold of jaemin's wrist and pulled him into the room.

it wasn't that grand or anything, but jaemin could tell some of the things here were worth more than himself. must've been from all the money they've racked up through their countless wins. the room was set up to where one side was the hang out area, with a bunch of personal items decorating that half. while the remaining half wasset up for gambling matches. a simple antique looking table was situated in the center paired with matching chairs. the table was enough to fit about six people, so to say the room was a bit spacious was an understatement. he noticed everyone from lunch was there too. mark sitting on a couch facing away from him, chenle and jisung on the rugged floor leaning against each other while aggressively tapping their phones (probably playing some game), donghyuck sprawled across the couch that was facing him, and finally jeno, who was making his way towards him and renjun.

all of them looked up when jaemin was completely in the room; greeting his with friendly smiles and waves.

"surprise!" chenle cheered, his signature dimpled smile on full display. "we were the kings all along!"

jaemin chuckled, "yes, i got that much. and i'm honestly glad that you are. i was here really thinking the kings were these mega intimidating buff dudes who'd beat me up if i won."

"i'm buff." jisung quietly huffed to himself.

"no, you're a noodle sungie, but you're my noodle so that's fine." there chenle goes, once again with his childish positivity that would make anyone question his actual age.

jaemin stared at the two fondly. he could already tell those two were close by how they acted and spoke around each other, and to be frank, it was utterly adorable. them? gambling monsters? nah, they were more like puppies who couldn't hurt a fly.

"i hope you're ready for your match nana." donghyuck brought up, raising a suggestive brow.

"now that you mention it, i'm pretty excited for it." the sound of cards being shuffled caught his attention, and he turned around to see renjun being the cause of it.

a deck of cards was set in renjun's hands, already shuffling and doing all sorts of cool tricks with it. another laid on the table seemingly already shuffled. jaemin's literally only learned like two from his grandmother, maybe a third if you wanna count spilling all the cards on the table and shuffling them that way. then again, his shuffling skills did not define how he played. gambling wasn't all about the shuffling anyways.

"i'm going up against renjun i assume?" jaemin asked, sitting himself in the chair opposite of renjun's.

"you're half right. i'll be joining too." jeno plopped down into the seat next to renjun, earning a raised brow from jaemin.

"oh? then what game are we playing them, if i may ask?"

"double concentration!" chenle cheered from the couch where was was now resting his head on its back to get a better view of the game.

"you do know how to play it right?" jaemin turned to see that mark had moved to one end of the table, one hand out for renjun to place his cards in. he noted how jisung joined chenle in spectating while donghyuck had knocked out, dead asleep on the other couch. so much for having some support.

"yeah, i've played before." jaemin answered confidently, remembering all the times his grandma would slam dunk his puny ten pairs with her forty two pairs. right when he thought the elderly had trouble with their memory.

"great. then i don't have to explain the rules and we can get gong straight away." mark says, dealing out the cards with expertise. "remember, if jaemin wins, he gets a spot as a new king."

"king? i thought six was the lock on number?"

"well, i decided seven sounded like a nicer number. besides, six always felt weird to me anyways." it was a lame reason, but jaemin followed through anyways. "and if you lose, you won't have a place here and you'd have to give up something valuable as a bet." mark added, finally done with dealing.

jaemin thought for a while, trying to think of anything that would make an interesting bet. "how about...i become the errand boy for club joker if i lose? you can basically make me do anything and i still get to technically hang out with you guys."

"so what you're saying is..." renjun was the one to speak now, leaning closer to jaemin whilst his chin rested on the palm of his propped up hand. "you'll be the club's slave?" the latter had this look in his eyes that made jaemin want to hightail out of there, but there he stayed, still glued to his seat. something about renjun's tone made him sound sinister; a complete contrast from earlier. the way he worded things at the end made it seem like there was an underlying message that jaemin had yet to find out. 

"i-i wouldn't word it t-that way..." jaemin managed to stutter out. he didn't think his offer would be interpreted like that. he honestly thought he's be getting them food half the time, and probably do a homework assignment or two.

renjun’s devilish smirk only widened.

jaemin glance up at jeno to see if he was reacting to this at all. to his surprise and amusement, the male sat there looking like this was a normal occurrence. though, if he were to spare a closer look, jeno held the same underlying message in his eyes as well.

"alright you fucking sadist. let's just start the game, you're scaring him renjun." mark declared, shooting the younger a pointed look. which renjun responded with another infamous eye roll of his.

"fine fine...such a party pooper." the latter blew a raspberry and rested his head further into the palm of his propped up hand.

mark paid the latter no mind and began setting up the cards; scattering them face down on the table. it is a simple game, kind of like those memory matching games but ten times worse because there are 104 cards to memorize the position of to match up. he found it a bit unfair that renjun and jeno were on one team but whatever, he can do it. he's a big boy, he can handle some simple memorization no problem.

once mark had set everything up, he started to scan over the cards. they weren't a traditional deck, as there was something off about all of the cards. but before he could linger on the thought much longer, mark spoke up.

"the game's simple, first person chooses and card and tries to find its exact pair. if you do find the pair, you get to go again. if not, it's the other player's turn. realize that if you keep on finding pairs, means it's still your turn. whoever has the most pair wins, easy enough?"

"yeah yeah, let's get started already." renjun uttered impatiently.

jeno leaned over to the shorter male and whispered into his ear, "chill out junnie. we'll win, so don't fret too much." pulling away, he gave renjun a small grin afterwards. damn, that smile always manages to get to him.

"jaemin, do you mind starting? since you are the challenger and all." renjun insisted, gesturing towards the table full of cards.

"y-yeah, that's fine by me. who's next then?"

"jeno here can go next, and i'll go last." he gave jaemin a sweet smile, with the meaning of: oh honey, you are so going down.

the game started out just fine. everything was quite normal with everyone having a fair amount of cards that didn't seem too much or too little. then came back to renjun's turn; that's when things started to click in jaemin's head that there was something going on here. while renjun was picking his cards, it was like he knew what the cards were before even picking them up. jaemin's seen him pick of pairs they haven't even turned over yet!

so on closer inspection, jaemin could finally see it. there was a minor design change with the backing on each and every card. anyone could've looked over it since the designs were so intricate, but if you'd just look a bit closer they were different. no wonder why renjun could find the cards so easily.

"oops, guess i chose the wrong card. back to you, jaeminie." now everyone's eyes were on him and it was honestly now or never.

he wasn't doing too bad being in last place and all. it was only three pairs behind jeno so this could be a real game changer. looking over at one of the cards he noticed its unique pattern and looked for the one the matched it. if he was right about this, he would win.

jaemin flipped over his first card, four of clubs, then the other card he suspected of having the same pattern. it was safe to say, he was right, because before him laid the other four of clubs to complete his pair. 

the corners of his mouth rose and he began picking out the pairs with ease. on the other hand everyone watched in awe as jaemin picked out the correct pairs every single time. even renjun, the one who agreed to challenge jaemin, began to panic. how could this be? did he find out about his special cards? it can't be, only the group knows the ins and outs of these cards. how can a whole newbie come in here and win by a total landslide? this was unheard of.

the oh so calm jeno became quite antsy as well, eyes darting everywhere jaemin's hand went. by the end of it, jaemin had collected the rest of the pairs on his turn and had ended the game being victorious. nobody expected him to win like this.

"i believe i've...won?" jaemin looked like the happiest boy on earth with his smile reaching his eyes, pearly whites displayed perfectly.

it was true. jaemin did win. 

"i...i guess you're our new king." mark announced, still awestruck at jaemin's incredible victory.

"wait. how—? how did you do it?" renjun interjected. he needed to know how jaemin had gotten every pair even though the card's tricks were meant to be only seen by him and jeno.

"you didn't think i wouldn't notice those slight pattern changes on the back of the cards?" everyone's eyes widened. "i did doubt myself, but after i saw you grab two pairs we haven't even touched yet with such confidence. i took a closer look and, boom, i saw it."

though jaemin's explanation was simple and straightforward, that didn't stop the others from being shocked by his analysis. even donghyuck arose from his deep slumber to see what's all the commotion about.

"well...a bet's a bet. and i'm sure jaemin would make a great addition to club joker. right guys?" the eldest looked over to every one of the boys.

"yay! someone new and cute! can't wait to play a couple of games with you jaemin!" chenle cheered, his peppy spirit never failing to dim. 

jisung lightly frowned at how chenle called jaemin cute. he thought he was the only cute one. pushing that aside, he just scooted closer to chenle and silently sulked to himself.

"not too shabby for a newbie. i don't mind playing some games with you as well." donghyuck shot him a playful smirk.

"and we have to have a rematch of course." jaemin looked over to the two males that had challenged him. renjun was giving him those eyes again and he really didn't know what to do. was this guy really a sadist like mark said? "we can't have you winning that easily against me again."

"hey hey, calm down junnie. it's just one win, so what? we'll get to him next time. no need to get riled up about this one." jeno reminded gently, causing jaemin the raise a brow of interest.

oh, so they were  those  kind of people. well, jaemin wasn't going to back down if they seemed this determined to beat him.

jaemin made the move to lean over the table and practically got up in their faces,  " _then i'll make sure to win no matter what then_."

you see, two can play at this game and jaemin was for sure going to come out victorious...at least that's what he's thinks is going to happen.


End file.
